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Alcoholism is a fatal disease. It is One Hundred
Percent fatal. Nobody survives alcoholism that
remains unchecked, untreated and unattended. Ten
percent of the drinkers in America will become addicted
one time or another in their lives. They will not
be able to stop drinking by themselves. It is a
myth that they will seek on their own and it
is our experience that they come to treatment from
crises that penetrates their almost impenetrable defense
systems and denial of their problems. Without
intervention, they will fail and they will perish
miserably. ( please see the intervention
link)
Make no mistake about it, Alcohol is a
disease and needs treatment. It affects the entire body: physically,
mentally, psychologically and spiritually. The
single biggest factor of the disease is that it is
primary, progressive, chronic and in all circumstances
if untreated, fatal. Diabetes is also fatal if
left unchecked but it can be arrested with insulin and
control. The same is true of alcoholism. But
control is final; sobriety means zero tolerance.
If you are to control an alcoholic, you must stop the
drinking; period. The progression of alcoholism
can be stopped and the alcoholic can recover but not be
cured. This is a pragmatic statement which has
visible proof in the recovery of hundreds of thousands
of AA members in the past seventy years. They are
alive and they have pioneered the path for countless
hundreds of thousands of alcoholics that have followed
in their wake. The pioneers have breathed hope and a
chance for survival when non existed prior to that
fateful meeting between Bill W. and Dr. Bob in 1935.
The salvation of these drunks disproves the lie that
this illness is too complex and too individual by nature
to ever tackle or to even treat.
We use the definition of Addiction to
refer to a combined experience of mental and physical
dependence on a substance. This substance is
compelling in its use even though you know you face
considerable harm by using it. You are addicted
when you can no longer direct yourself out of harms way
and must use it. You are addicted when you
continue to use the substance or engage in behavior that
puts you in harms way no matter what the consequences.
Simply stated, addiction causes a change in your brain.
When this change occurs, you lose control over your
urges to use a substance or engage in certain behaviors.
The urges are irresistible. You can become so
compelled by your addictive behavior that nothing else
matters. It is an equal opportunity employer and
it does not matter how smart you are, how accomplished
you are, or how physically strong you are. It can
happen to virtually anyone at anytime and anyplace and
require treatment The definition of dependence is really
just one step along the slippery path that leads to
addiction. With prolong use, dependence results in
a switch in your brain being thrown. The
experience you have after that switch has been thrown is
what we call addiction. This introduces another term;
abuse. Abuse can occur without dependence but the
reverse is rarely true; dependence almost always leads
to abuse.
In order to emphasize the progression of
the disease from its early to middle and late stages,
the following definition was adopted by the Board of
Directors of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug
Dependence and the American Society of Addiction
Medicine in February of 1990.
"Alcoholism is a primary, chronic
disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental
factors influencing its development and manifestations.
The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is
characterized by continuous or periodic; impaired
control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug
alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences,
and distortions in thinking, most notably denial."
Note on Drinking and
Driving----It may surprise you
to learn that you don’t need to drink much alcohol
before your driving ability is affected. For example,
certain driving skills can be impaired by blood alcohol
concentrations (BACs) as low as 0.02 percent. (The BAC
refers to the amount of alcohol in the blood.) A
160-pound man will have a BAC of about 0.04 percent 1
hour after drinking two 12-ounce beers or two other
standard drinks on an empty stomach (see the box, “What
Is a Drink?”). And the more alcohol you drink, the more
impaired your driving skills will be. Although most
States set the BAC limit for adults who drive after
drinking at 0.08 percent, driving skills are affected at
much lower levels. Note on
Drinking and Cancer----Long-term
heavy drinking increases the risk of certain forms of
cancer, especially cancer of the esophagus, mouth,
throat, and larynx (voice box). Research suggests that,
in some women, as little as one drink per day can
slightly raise the risk of breast cancer. Drinking may
also increase the risk for developing cancer of the
colon and rectum and require immediate treatment.
Our Alcohol Rehab And Drug Abuse
Support Staff is Available 24/7
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